1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a personal or personalizable device for the conditional use of electric or electronic appliances.
2. Discussion of the Background
Many electrical or electronic devices can be used without their usual users"" agreement in absence of devices allowing the control of the start of their run in a sufficiently secured way. The codes usually installed on devicesxe2x80x94such as TV sets or doorsxe2x80x94are easily bypassed and require a growing memorization of numerical codes or the possession of multiple magnetic cards.
Numerous previous works allowed the development of devices aimed at increasing the security associated with access to premises, with bank operations, or with electronic keys of various applications. For example:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,821,704 (Sabsay) and U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,447 (Crafton) describe a security system for the control of access to premises. The device used puts in practice a key controlled by a decoding circuit comparing the data of a memory with those of the key. These patents do not give any description of a personalizable key, or the insertion of the decoding (identification and comparison) circuit in an essential site of an electric or electronic circuit of the appliance.
European patent application no 43 270 concerns an unlocking system, in particular for the opening and closing of doors, by comparison of a code on a card with the content of a memory and the possibility of modifying the content of the memory.
European patent application No. 122 244 discloses a door locking-system consisting in a magnetic card, a reader of this card, a memory and a clock which allows the opening of the door if the content of the card and the memory agree during a lapse of time set by the clock.
British patent No. 2 126 647 describes an invention which allows to re-code an electronic locking system by using a master-key, in order to prevent the access to premises with a previous key.
European patent application No. 152 678 covers a locking system for hotel doors consisting in an electromagnetic system controlled by a microprocessor recognizing 5 levels of access, said system detects the code of a magnetic card inserted in an appropriate lock and allows the opening of the door.
French patent No. 2 715 748 [FR 9 401 202] concerns a system of automatic payment made secure by a card with a built-in chip.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,464 discloses an appliance for making an electrical contact with a portable electronic card, such as a card with a built-in chip.
Japanese patent No. J 08 326 375 describes a double security system for a door electronic key with a secret code to be typed on a key-pad and a recordable identification card compared with a memory.
PCT patent application No. 95 570 16 concerns the opening of a door with a card.
PCT patent application No. WO 97 02 200 (ERICSSON) describes a device comprising a signal generating unit that allows to identify which key of a keyboard is used.
European patent application No. 98 1042 84 (Olympus Optical Co.) discloses a procedure for the modulation of numerical data to send or record.
European patent No. 97 934 683 (Philips Electronics N.V.) describes an improved system of locking transmission.
On the other hand, to the inventors"" knowledge, no previous document discloses the use of a key or personalizable substrate (or medium) for the control of the conditional operation of an electronic or electric appliance that uses an identification circuit localized on an essential electric or electronic part of said appliance.
By  less than  less than essential part greater than  greater than  one means any element whichxe2x80x94if not activexe2x80x94will not allow the operation of the device. One means for example a printed or integrated circuit such as the mother-board or the micro-processor of a computer or the reception card of a TV or video recorder or the control circuit of household appliances, such as washing machine, fridge or photographic appliances or else machines controlled by electric circuits (such as all kinds of vehicles).
The present invention relates to a device associated to an electric or electronic appliance consisting in one part of a personalized or personalizable substrate (key) and a reader of said substrate and on the other part of an electronic circuit of identification comprising a) a memory and b) a circuit comparing the memory content and the data read by the reader of the substrate (key), said identification circuit (electric or electronic) being placed on an essential electric or electronic circuit of the appliance.